The Exhibit

The My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today initiative includes an immersive multimedia exhibit, a related program series, and in-depth educational experiences that all explore the influence of modern immigrant and refugee writing in America on our culture, history, and daily lives. This website, My-America.org, is an extension of that initiative, bringing a select set of the exhibit material to a wider audience.

My America gives visitors and students a deep and personal experience, bringing them face-to-face — both through videos and in person — with contemporary authors who are immigrants, refugees, and second generation immigrants from all parts of the world, and is designed to elicit thoughtful dialogue on a wide variety of issues. The curating team of My America includes Marie Arana, Ilan Stavans, Vu Hoang Tran, Chris Abani, Laila Halaby, Dipika Mukherjee, and special advisor Viet Thanh Nguyen.

The authors featured in My America delve into questions about writing influences, being multilingual, community, family, and what it means to be American. The initiative highlights writing in a variety of genres, including memoir, fiction, poetry, travel writing, songwriting, screenwriting, and more. Learn more about these writers by following the American Writers Museum’s My America blog series.

Use the links on the left to explore different themes presented in the exhibit, or use the button below to start with stories of objects the writers feel represent their individual cultures.

Use the links above to explore different themes presented in the exhibit, or use the button below to start with stories of objects the writers feel represent their individual cultures.